Running Update (See What I Did There?)

What started as a pretty amazing year of running tapered down quickly.

Getting that IOD in March spelled disaster for my running. The nausea and constant myalgia pretty much put me out of it for four weeks straight. Winter was a shock to my system and it took me a while to get back into running when the cold set in; and not long after THAT I got a really bad bout of flu that essentially had me indoors for the month of August.

Excuses aside, my motivation to run WAS pretty low, too.

I recently read Tom Foreman’s My Year of Running Dangerously (review coming soon!) and that certainly upped my motivation in a big way. In fact, while I have always maintained that I had no desire to run a marathon… I now think I kinda sorta might want to do that.

The little trip to New York also, strangely, really helped my running. The Boy’s sister is big into trail running and we went running in Central Park every morning. It was fantastic! I find that when you run in a foreign country you don’t seem quite so foreign. Nobody tries to sell you crap while you’re running, for instance.

Central Park!

Alice in Wonderland, Central Park!

After the Peace Run, Cape Town!

Upon returning to Cape Town and before returning to the Eastern Cape, I decided to do a little 10km run. It was the Cape Town Marathon that weekend, which also hosted a 10km “Peace Run”. I set a personal record for 10km so naturally I was pretty chuffed.

I still prefer running on the trail, but right now I’m not at all fit enough.

Good luck on your running goals – I’m sure you’ll be able to reach them 🙂 Right now, I’m so unfit I’m out of breath after literally a minute, but I’m determined to improve that, and although I don’t often comment on them, posts like these really just increase that motivation. I’ll be starting up Pilates too soon I think (recommended for lower back pain and also I just want to get into an exercise routine!). Maybe one day I’ll be able to say “a little 10k run” but for now my goal is finishing Couch to 5K and being able to run for thirty minutes!

You’re already halfway there because you’re determined! When I started running (a whole two years ago), I could hardly run for a minute, too. So don’t worry, because you’ll get there.
Pilates is such a good idea – very important to get your core strong for running. I’m trying to fit it into my schedule as well. But more than the physical benefits, running can sometimes be very solitary, so doing classes can do a lot for one’s motivation. Good for you!